


Break The World

by Battlefox



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Alternate Universe - Supervillians, Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Chroma Conclave, Dark, F/M, Gore, Supervillains, Tentacles, Violence, vox machina - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-10-06 06:22:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17340182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Battlefox/pseuds/Battlefox
Summary: Percy has been locked away for years, but when Vex'halia frees him and sets him loose on a barely healed world, what's there to do but wreak a little havoc?A slightly darker Perchalia Supervillain AU.





	1. Assisted Departure

_ 1…. 2… 3… 1… 2…3… hit.  _ Percy didn’t bother to brace himself for the hit of electricity, just let out a faint groan as all of his muscles tensed at once. As soon as it hit, it was over, and he felt an itch all over his body as his broken tissues knit back together.

_ 1… 2… 3… 1… 2… 3… hit.  _ Another hit of electricity, right on schedule. All in the name of keeping him subdued. Constant torture, constant pain. He wished his nerves would just die away, but he couldn’t be that lucky. He had no idea how much time had passed while he’d been in here. It had been a year, at least, according to the brief scraps of conversation that sometimes hit his ears. He wouldn’t know. He measured time in the intervals of the shocks.

_ 1… 2… 3… 1… 2… 3… hit.  _ He waited for the shock but it never came. He paused a moment, confused, and opened his eyes.

He was still hanging there, wrapped in copper wires and held in place in the middle of a dark room. They didn’t bother to turn on the lights or open the door, ever. There was no need. His symbiote kept him alive, kept him on the barest edge of existence. The one thing that kept them in check were the intermittent shocks that pulsed every seven seconds. That  _ should _ pulse every seven seconds. But for some reason it wasn’t. He didn’t even hear the faint buzz of electricity in the room. It was such a startling absence, that it made the room seem perfectly silent.

But it wasn’t silent. Eventually he got his bearings enough that he started to hear movement out of the room. It was faint, subtle, trying not to be noticed.

And he started to hear the faint murmurings from Orthax again, rousing after a very long slumber.

The door opened.

In the doorway stood a figure he didn’t recognize. It was a lithe woman with a wild length of dark hair that fell past her waist. Her cool blue eyes bored into his own. In the back of his head, he felt a twinge of amusement.

“You’ve made a mistake,” He murmured, an odd manic laugh bubbling up from his throat. He felt Orthax’s dark tendrils start to slide over his shoulders and down his arms.

“Oh, no,” The woman replied lightly, watching him. There was not even a hint of fear in her eyes, “I know precisely what I’m doing.”

He continued to laugh. It was a horrible laugh, sounding more like the terrified mad laugh of a mind long lost. He felt the cold fingers of Orthax around his throat, and after so long without, the pressure was not unwelcome. He’d been kept isolated for so long, locked away, and he was  _ hungry.  _ As he continued to laugh, he felt Orthax’s tendrils slide into his mouth, his ears, the corners of his eyes, and his manic laughs turned into pained screams.

As long as he’d been here, he hadn’t been able to transform, so he was no longer used to the  _ tugging _ and  _ pulling  _ sensations as Orthax took over. It felt innately wrong to have something invading him, moving around  _ inside _ of him. But the sensation was temporary, and faded to nothing more than an annoying whine in the back of his mind once it was complete.

Two strong yanks of his arm were all it took to free it from the mess of restraints and wires, and once the first arm was free, the rest of his body was short work. He stumbled forward, getting used to his feet again, and he stared down the length of his beak at the woman who still stood, watching him. A faint smile had curled her lips, and she’d crossed her arms, looking like she was watching a casual match of tennis rather than a newly-freed monstrosity.

“You look like a baby bird that just got shoved out of the nest,” She said in a tone that was almost teasing. Her lack of fear, lack of  _ respect _ made Percy’s blood boil. He leaned in to her face and parted his beak, letting out an ear-shattering screech. The woman didn’t even flinch, didn’t even lean back. She reached up, and rested a hand on top of his shadowy beak.

“Alright, now, be a dear and wreak a little havoc, would you?” She purred, “It’s been so horribly boring around here.”

Percy lunged forward to snap at her hand with his beak but got nothing but air. She was  _ much _ faster than he’d anticipated her to be, and she’d simply sidestepped him. She smirked, and with a simple twist of her hand, she was flying. Only then did Percy look up and notice the gaping hole that went through every floor of the facility, through the roof. She flew up and out, and was gone. He stared up greedily for a moment, just drinking in the sight of the sky, then started furiously clambering up.

Fresh screams met his progress as he started to encounter the security staff, who were inspecting the intrusion. Percy lunged forward hungrily, reaching out with dark masses of black tendrils that wrapped around his victims before drawing them in. He could smell the acrid smell of the strange caustic substance his symbiote used to digest its food as more and more people were dragged into the writhing mass. Already he was feeling stronger, more energized.

‘ _ Alright, that’s plenty,’  _ Percy thought pointedly to Orthax as he dragged in a seventh victim, ‘ _ We need to leave before they call in the big guns.’ _

_ ‘I don’t feel particularly keen to slip out into whatever trap that woman has laid for us,’ _ came the sullen response, echoing in his head.

_ ‘Then we go out another way. But we need to go.’ _

__ _ ‘Fine.’ _

__ Percy felt himself turn and move out of the series of holes that led from the roof down into the holding area where he’d been detained, and towards the closest wall. It was hard to determine if they were still underground, as they were not in view of any windows, but Orthax didn’t seem to care as he slammed their shared form through several walls in one direction, just trying to reach the end of the rooms. Finally, they smashed through an area of concrete on the other side of a holding cell, and starting finding nothing but dirt. At that point, Orthax started working his way up, tearing holes through the ceilings of cells designed to hold things of much less strength and ability than he had. Finally, when they broke through the wall two more floors up, the cool soothing air of the outdoors rushed into their lungs.

They took less than a moment to appreciate it before slinging themselves through the hole, out into the prisonyard. More authoritative shouts began to call, and Percy felt the signature  _ thunk _ of bullets sinking into their flesh. However, the lead projectiles did little damage to their form, and they bounded to the series of walls that were the final barrier between them and freedom.

“Electricity! _ Electricity _ ! Damnit, someone  _ taze _ the motherfucker!!” one of the prison guard screamed at the others, and Orthax upped their speed, trying to not give anyone the chance.

They were over the first wall, and mid-jump to the second when two barbed hooks dug into their semi-amorphous form and began to load them with electricity. They dropped to the ground like a sack of meat, letting out inhuman squeals of pain as they writhed with the pulses. Percy began to feel Orthax’s form breaking up around him.

“Move!!” Percy growled aloud, forcing their arm to grab the barbs and tear them free before scrambling to the second wall. He let out a muffled shout as two bullets pierced through the layers of his symbiote, which had been thinned by the electric pulses, and into his own flesh. At this point Orthax took over again and dragged them over top of the second wall, determined to not let them get hit by another electrical attack.

By now the two of them had caught the attention of most of the prison, so they were being harried from every possible angle. Even prisoners escaping due to Orthax tearing apart their cells were being completely ignored in favor of detaining what was deemed the biggest threat. Everyone brave enough to approach was focused on shooting, blocking, or attacking them in some way.

But then, there were no more walls. No more obstacles in their way. They let out a cry that was somewhere between a croaking burble and a shout of joy, and they bounded across the open fields that surrounded the facility. Though there was nowhere to hide yet, they were faster than any normal human, and any rifle that could still hit them at this distance was not going to be strong enough to pierce them.

They were free.  _ Free. _

***

Percy shuffled down the street, doing his best to blend in with the crowd. He’d stolen some clothes and so he at least wasn’t entirely an obvious escapee. People still shied away from him, however, due to his haggard appearance and dead-eyed stare.

_ ‘I didn’t see that woman on our way out at all. Did you?’ _ Percy asked Orthax silently, glancing around to make sure no one was giving them any attention before slipping down a side street.

_ ‘Not a single shred of her.’  _ Orthax replied grumpily. He didn’t like having to stay out of sight, particularly not since he was finally able to think properly for the first time in years,  _ ‘I looked back over the rooftops- not a thing, other than that hole she made. Which, come to think of it, why didn’t we hear her breaking in?’ _

__ _ ‘Room was soundproofed, remember? After the first month, when we kept screaming. They added a bunch of stuff so they didn’t have to listen.’ _

__ _ ‘Right. Bloody ingrates, all of them. They’ll pay.’ _

__ Percy didn’t respond to that, turning into a small alley that smelled like fish oil and decay. There was a narrow set of stairs that led to an old door that was molding at the corners.

“Where did you hide the key? We still have it, right?”

_ ‘Of course we still have it. Hold still.’ _

__ Percy did as Orthax said, preparing himself for what he knew would come next. He felt the sliding tendrils move up his back, slipping between his shoulder blades and then curling around either side of his neck. The two slid past Percy’s lips and down his throat. Percy’s knees buckled as he felt them  _ wriggling  _ in his gut, and he let out a soft groan as he supported himself against the slimy bricks. He tried to focus on the pain of his fingernails digging into the grit of the wall instead of the sensation of the tendrils dragging something back up through his body. He retched a little as the metallic object was finally tugged back up his throat and out of his mouth, and groaned again, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of his neck.

_ ‘Been so long you’ve lost your nerve again,’ _ came Orthax’s smug tone as the tendril deposited the key into Percy’s hand.

“Oh fuck off,” Percy groaned, wiping his mouth before trundling down the narrow stairs. He slipped the key into the lock, and turned it with some effort. Percy stepped inside, getting the door closed behind him as quickly as he could. The smell of must and coolant filled his nose as he fumbled for the light switch. Once his fingers found it, the light turned dutifully on, revealing a workshop that had been long abandoned, and was covered in a layer of dust.

“Looks like they really never found it…” Percy mused, inspecting his machines as they stepped into the shop floor, “I’m surprised.”

_ ‘We never drew attention to it,’  _ Orthax snorted disdainfully, and slipped up out of Percy’s collar, dropping beside him. The amorphous black blob rose and formed into what looked like a sickly humanoid bird with hollow eyes and a skeleton-like face that never moved properly.  _ ‘Not like they’d care about finding it after we left, anyways. Out of sight, out of mind.’ _

__ “Right….” He murmured, then paused, his eyes sliding over the far wall. He stopped moving, looking over the wall again.

“…who’s there?”

Orthax’s blank face managed to look startled as a figure stepped out from the wall, their colors shifting and warping back into normal.

The woman from earlier in the day gave an impressed smirk, “What gave it away?”

“The shadows weren’t right,” Percy replied, a dry amusement on his face as he stared the woman down, “What is it you want? I know there’s no such thing as a free lunch. How does freeing me benefit you? If you’re here, it can’t possibly be because you were just bored and wanted a little fun.”

“It was, at least a little,” She mused, sitting on one of the workbenches and crossing her legs, “As well as a bit of morbid curiosity, perhaps. But you’re right, that isn’t entirely what I want.”

She paused, considering for a moment, then held out her hand, “I’m Vex’halia. Though, these days, I’m more commonly known as Ranger.”

Percy reached out, despite Orthax’s warning hiss, and took her hand, shaking it.

“Percival. Though I think I hardly need to mention what I’m known by.”

“‘The Butcher of Taldorei’? Hardly,” Vex’halia mused, “No, I think your reputation proceeds you. Part of why I’m here.”

“And why are you here, Miss Vex’halia?” Percy replied diplomatically, eyeing her. 

“Because I want to bring down the Chroma Conclave, and for that, I need a team.”

Percy watched her, trying to figure out if he was toying with him, “...Pardon my pessimism Miss Vex’halia, but did you do any research on how I ended up in that place?”

“Oh, I’ve already killed Brimscythe.” Vex smirked, and seemed to revel in Percy’s visible surprise.

“What, you really thought I didn’t do my research? I know full well a few sparks and you’re utterly useless to me. So I got rid of that obstacle.”

Percy observed her carefully, reevaluating his opinion of her already.

“If you’ve already killed one, why do you need me for the others?”

“I don’t need you, Mister De Rolo, but having you on my side would mean an extra level of security for me, and that’s why I do what I do.” She slipped off the workbench, straightening to her full stature. Despite being shorter than Percy was, her presence was significant, “I’m here for me.”

“I see,” Percy replied, his tone guarded. She considered him an asset, he could tell, but she obviously was certain he was someone she could control. At the moment, there was no reason for him to dispute that in any way.

“Well then, I suppose I will consider it.”

“Of course,” Vex replied in an eerily soothing tone, “I wouldn’t expect you to agree without a little time to think.”

She stepped up to him, much closer than he’d anticipated her to, and looked up into his eyes. He felt his heart involuntarily beat a touch faster. 

“Now, when you do decide, be a dear and give me a call, alright?” She said softly, and flicked something out of her collar. It was a business card. He took the card slowly, deliberately, his eyes not leaving hers the entire time.

“I’ll think about it.” He replied evenly, not willing to break eye contact with her, feeling slightly thrilled by some unspoken challenge in the conversation.

“Fabulous.” She smirked, and then stepped past him, striding easily to the door. Percy marked how despite stepping in dust nearly an inch thick, her feet left no tracks in the floor. 

“Have a good night, darling,” Vex’halia called over her shoulder, then was finally gone.

Percy stared at the door for some time after she left, then eventually looked away, shaking his head slightly. Apparently, he was going to have to change the locks.


	2. Persistence and Resistance

_‘If you keep ignoring her, she’s going to keep coming by.’_ Orthax informed Percy, as Percy ignored the light knock on his door. He glanced at the small tablet screen in front of him, confirming that it was indeed Vex’halia. She was dressed in what he supposed could be called civilian clothing, and her wild dark hair had been tamed into an over-the-shoulder braid. His camera- placed above the door- showed her look of annoyance quite clearly.

_‘If she wants to work with me, then she’s going to need to learn to be a little more patient.’_ He retorted, turning his attention back to the command screen for his lathe, and worked on adjusting a few of the parameters for the part he was trying to make. He could tell Orthax wasn’t fond of that idea.

_‘Well if you aren’t going to work with her, then let’s get rid of her. She’s the only one who knows where we are. Getting rid of her would be to our benefit.’_

_‘You’ve forgotten that she’s rather sure of her advantage over us,’_ Percy reasoned, _‘And my research on her has turned up very little. I’m not going to make any moves until I’m sure we can be protected against anything she’s going to throw at us. Underestimating our opponent is what landed us in confinement in the first case, in case you’d forgotten.’_

_‘Hmph.’_ Came the indignant response. Orthax, though not willing to quite agree with Percy, couldn’t deny that he was right. Percy looked back to check the camera feed again, and was relieved to see that Vex’halia had finally left. She’d left him alone for the first week, but when he had not responded to her, she’d started stopping by. At first it was only once or twice a week, but it eventually escalated to her knocking on his door nearly three times a day. He wished she’d just leave him alone, but she was apparently determined to do the exact opposite of that.

‘ _She’s back,’_ Orthax grumbled to Percy, who turned and looked. Indeed she was, and she stood at the door looking more thoughtful than annoyed now. She glanced up, and Percy frowned as he realized that she had at some point noticed the camera, and was currently staring directly into the lens. She hadn’t knocked this time, and seemed to have something else in mind.

“I know you’re watching me,” She said to the camera confidently, narrowing her eyes just a little, “And I really don’t appreciate being ghosted. Particularly by someone I’ve done _quite_ the favor for. So I’ll give you one more chance to let me in. Or I’ll be going after Cassandra.”

That was _certainly_ not the threat he’d expected her to make. His hands shook slightly, and he wanted to pick up the tablet and yell at her, threatening her right back, but he couldn’t show that level of weakness. It was bad enough that she knew.

Vex’halia did nothing to hide the smug expression from her face as Percival slowly opened the now quintuply-reinforced workshop door. He did nothing to hide the anger in his eyes as he stepped aside to allow her entrance.

“Thank you, darling,” She mused, stepping inside with a casual ease that he despised. He watched her slip over to one of his projects and look it over. He bit back an annoyed comment and instead settled on just glaring at her.

Eventually, he couldn’t stay silent, and sullenly commented, “I thought you were waiting for me to call you.”

“Dear, I’m not naïve enough to think you’d actually do that,” Vex’halia mused, reaching out and gently touching a few of the scattered pieces of his project. Percy bit his tongue to keep himself from telling her to stop, suspecting it would only fuel her. She already seemed to be taking far too much pleasure in making him uncomfortable.

“… And I suppose you’re also not willing to take no for an answer.” Percy concluded, crossing his arms. He’d suspected as much anyways, but he’d hoped he’d get away with avoiding her for a little longer. He was quickly finding a heavy loathing for this woman. He did not like being played around with, particularly when he had nothing to fight back with.

Vex’halia straightened once more, looking back to him over the top of her shoulder. She still had that maddening smirk playing across her lips, “I never said that, darling. You can always say no. You just need to be willing to accept the consequences of doing so.”

“Hm.” Percy grunted, tearing his gaze away from her. He stalked back over to his lathe and busied himself with modifying the program again, now just blatantly ignoring her. She seemed a little more willing to wait now that she was back inside the shop, and she idly watched him work for a few minutes before speaking again.

“There will be benefits to you for your assistance,” She slipped a little closer to him, stopping hardly a yard from him. Percy felt Orthax curl out from the hems of his clothing protectively, a reflexive warning to the woman. She hardly seemed like she noticed the threat.

“We can keep Cassandra protected. Or, if you’d rather, keep her out of this entirely. Not to mention that when the Chroma Conclave is removed, it also removes the threat to her.” She let that information sink in before adding, “…we also have information on Ripley. And the Briarwoods.”

Percy didn’t allow even the briefest flicker of emotion onto his face in response to that. But the words dragged on his thoughts and sent gears turning. He didn’t want to allow Vex’halia any more power over him than he already had… but he _needed_ whatever information she had. But, again, he couldn’t give in to her. He had to maintain his power in this situation somehow.

“…Alright. How about this,” He finally turned to her, crossing his arms, “I’ll help. For now. But only on one condition.”

“One condition?” She prompted, watching him. She showed no nervousness at the request, just careful curiosity. The air between them was tense with unspoken challenge. It felt like they were two wildcats, each circling the other, looking for weakness, for opportunities to strike.

“You allow me to prick your finger, and put a single drop of this inside,” He lifted his hand casually, parts of Orthax’s amorphous form dripping down his skin. Vex’halia eyed the churning black tendrils, and for the first time, Percy saw her confidence falter. But just for the briefest moment.

“And why should I allow you to do that?” Vex responded, the smugness gone from her voice.

“A single drop is not enough to take you over,” Percy explained, casually rolling Orthax’s tendrils over his fingers, “But it allows me to know where you are. Gives me a modicum of security in this… situation.”

He looked back to her, his gaze hardening from behind his glasses, “Trust goes both ways, Miss Vex’halia. If you aren’t willing to bend a little for me, how can I trust that you’d follow through with any of your other promises? Plus, if you’re so certain you can control me, how bad could a single drop be?”

Silence fell upon the room for some time as Vex’halia considered that. Neither of them moved, and neither of them looked away from the other. Then, with a soft sigh, Vex’halia turned her face away, lifting her hand. Thick thorny vines crept up and around her arm, and one single slender thorn pressed into the skin of her fingertip, pricking it deeply. The vines subsided and she reached out the hand to him.

“I suppose you are right. Trust goes both ways, true,” Vex’halia watched him again, “For your sake, I hope that you are not lying to me.”

Percy reached out, taking her hand with his. The black tendrils slid up and entwined both of their hands, curling around them until they found the newly opened wound on Vex’halia’s hand. A miniscule portion of the black split from the rest, and slid into the forming drop of blood. Then the tendrils retracted, and Percy let go.

Vex frowned a little, moving her other hand over the prick, healing it, “Alright. So it is decided. There’s an address on the business card I gave you yesterday. Go there tomorrow evening, as close to seven as you can manage. Knock three times and you’ll be let in.”

“Mmm…” Percy nodded a little, but didn’t say anything. He turned to his lathe a final time. Vex watched him for a minute longer, her silent thoughts hanging heavy in the air around her. Then, finally, she turned away and slipped out the door, leaving Percy alone with Orthax once more.

_‘You don’t intend on actually going, do you?’_ Orthax grumbled, speaking to him for the first time since Vex had entered the workshop. Percy snorted softly, returning to his work on the screen of the machine.

“Actually,” he mused aloud, “I think I will. I’m more than a little curious to see who else she’s coerced into joining her cause. Perhaps we can find some more information to use against her while we’re there.”

_‘You’re going to get us dragged back to the prison,’_ Orthax complained, but Percy could tell that he didn’t care enough to actually object to it. Percy suspected that Orthax was just as curious about her as he was, and just as eager to even the odds a little.

 

 

_‘Well this is quite the dump, now, isn’t it?’_ Orthax commented in a bemused tone as Percy did his best to avoid stepping on yet another pile of refuse in the alleyway. The address had led them to the docks of Emon-- specifically, to the warehouse district. The smell of rotting fish and ocean salt clogged their nostrils as they tried to navigate the narrow lanes of the area. Percy had finally spotted the one he was looking for, and went around one of the sides of the building to find the door.

_‘Well I suspect if these people truly are going after the chroma conclave, they don’t want to draw attention.’_ Percy responded, looking at the door. It was deceptively nondescript, and Percy suspected it was much stronger than it seemed. He stepped forward and knocked three times, as Vex had directed.

_‘Simple cleanliness doesn’t typically attract attention, as long as it isn’t excessive,’_ Orthax retorted, his form moving around beneath Percy’s clothes. Percy stood still, waiting patiently at the door. Eventually, after a few moments of waiting, he caught the sound of a powered lock whirring, and the sounds of bolts being pulled back.

When the door finally opened, Percy had to keep himself from taking a startled step back. The one who’d answered had not been Vex’halia, as he’d expected, but rather, a hulking mountain of a man who stared down at him with beady eyes.

“Who’re you?” He grunted, narrowing his eyes at Percival, his large form hardly fitting within the frame of the doorway.

“Percival.” He replied stiffly, feeling a touch annoyed now that he’d been even temporarily intimidated. Orthax murmured something in the back of his head about showing the man who was the scarier one, but he pointedly ignored him.

“Mm. right. Get in, then,” The man stepped to the side, allowing Percy to enter.

What hit Percy first was the smell. It was not the smell of refuse, as he’d expected from the exterior of the building, but rather, the caustic reek of chemicals and over-sanitized surfaces. He looked around for the source of the scent, but could not place it. He suspected it was coming from one of the rooms who’s doors lined the darkened hallway he’d stepped into.

The gigantic man closed the door behind them, and Percy again heard the sound of the powered lock engaging.

“This way.”

The man led Percy down the hallway, passing a few of the doors from which the chemical smell was strongest. Percy felt the adrenaline starting to pump into his system, quickly started to feel as though he was being led into a trap. He felt Orthax creep around him, staying just under the hems of his clothing to remain out of sight for now, but close enough that he’d be prepared should he need to transform at the last second.

They finally reached the end of the hallway, where the giant man turned, and opened the door, gesturing for Percy to go inside. Percy stiffly complied, still ready to transform and break his way out at the slightest hint of a threat. Instead, he was greeted by the sight of what seemed to be a dimly-lit lounge. A few people wandered around the lounge, while a couple others were seated in luxurious-looking seats that were a deep crimson in color. All of them stopped and turned to look when he stepped into the room. Vex’halia, who had been one of the ones seated, stood and walked over to him.

“Mister De Rolo, how lovely it is for you to join us,” She nearly purred, then looked up at the man who’d brought Percy into the room, “Thank you for fetching him, Grog. Be a dear and close the door, will you? It’s time to discuss things.”

Grog did as she asked and then followed them as Vex’halia led Percy back over to the couches. The other people in the room gathered to the seats as well, seeming at least familiar with what Vex’halia intended to do.

At Vex’halia’s insistence, Percy took a seat, but his guard was still up. He recognized only one or two of the other figures in the room, and only because they’d shown up in the results of the research he’d attempted to do on Vex. Even from the minimal knowledge he had, he suspected that if he had to fight his way out of here, he was going to be in over his head.

“Nice of you to finally show up,” Snarked one of the others- a shorter man who’d been lazily spread across one of the chairs already when Percy came in. Percy had to mentally restrain Orthax from emerging and retorting.

“Scanlan,” Vex’halia said in a scolding town, “He’s here, that’s what’s important, yeah?”

Scanlan snorted dismissively, eyeing Percy with a bored look. Percy didn’t rise to the bait, not even bothering to look at the other man.

“I’m here,” Percy agreed in a calm tone, “Now please don’t waste my time.”

There came a few amused chuckles at that response, and Vex even smirked a little.

“Of course not. Now, let me introduce you,” Vex mused, first gesturing to Scanlan, “Scanlan is the one who owns this building. He’s more commonly known as the Meat man, and he runs the drug trade throughout the region.”

Percy nodded a little, taking in the information. That provided an explanation for the chemical smells coming from the other rooms. Vex continued, now nodding to Grog, who was standing behind her.

“Grog here is known publically as Goliath. He’s our strongarm—quite literally, of course.”

Grog gave a crooked grin and flexed his muscles a little. Percy looked fairly unimpressed. He was fairly certain that when he was paired with Orthax, he was stronger. But then again, it did not serve him well to underestimate any of these people. The next person Vex pointed out was a taller, lanky woman with firey red hair and a suspicious scowl. As much as Percy was masking his current emotions, she seemed to be displaying hers.

“This is Keyleth. You’ll probably have heard of her as the Tempest, however.”

And Percy, indeed, had. It was hard not to hear of the Tempest’s exploits, particularly as she was consistently cited as the most powerful being currently known. Her mastery of natural forces was… impressive at the very least. Percy offered her a respectful nod. If there was anyone in the room who deserved his respect, it was she.

Vex moved on to indicate another woman on the couch- a shorter woman with dark hair bleached white and pulled into a bun on her head.

“This is Pike. I think she’s someone you’ll want to talk to the most,” Vex smirked, “She works at Briarwood hospital.”

Percy’s head turned to look at the woman quickly, and she returned his gaze with her own.

“But, later,” Vex stepped in before either of them could say anything, “Last of all is my brother, Vax’ildan, known as the Raven. Vax- will you please stop sulking around and introduce yourself?”

“I don’t know why we’re bothering with this one.” Vax’s voice grumbled from directly behind Percy, who did start slightly at the man’s appearance. He was rather certain no one had been there a moment before. He did not like how casually the man seemed to have been able to sneak up on him.

“Well, for one, I think he’s got as much of a personal attachment to taking out the Chroma conclave as the rest of us,” Vex explained, “And two… I think he’s going to be our key to getting rid of both Umbrasyl and Vorugal.”

“..Umbrasyl, I can see. But Vorugal?” Vax questioned, stepping around and sitting next to his sister and glaring at Percy, “One sweep of Vorugal’s ice powers and his symbiotic form is a block of black ice.”

Percy was about to reply to that with a fair bit of vehemence, but Vex cut him off.

“He’s bait, darling. You know how Vorugal loves to hunt people down. Percy got free from one of the most secure containment facilities- all on his own, as far as the public is aware. I’m sure Vorugal’s got a hard-on for Percy already.”

“O-Of all the terms you could have used,” Percy finally managed to grouse aloud, “But really? You brought me here to be bait? …No..” He narrowed his eyes a little, the realization hitting him, “I’m _already_ bait. Just my existence outside of the prison will bring Vorugal running. Why bother recruiting me, then?”

Vex smirked again- that little knowing smirk that really drove him mad- and shrugged, “Common courtesy, I suppose. And like I said when I broke you out—“

“You don’t _need_ me, it would just be a bonus to your security if you do?”

“Well, yes, that, and,” she laughed a little, “I was _bored_ , darling, and I needed a little more havoc. I think you’ll be the perfect wrench to throw in the Conclave’s gears.”

“…Mmm.” Percy frowned, looking at the room. The feeling he was getting from the room was less of that of a cohesive group, and more akin to a group of very flimsily herded cats. They had a common goal, but he suspected that a majority of them would not hesitate to turn on everyone else in the room with the right opportunity. Except, perhaps, the twins. That was an interesting dynamic that he mildly wondered whether he could use to his benefit.

But he was also intensely curious about Pike’s connections to the Briarwoods. She worked in the hospital, but that didn’t necessarily mean she was very closely connected with them. But something in Pike’s eyes was driving him to need more information from her. And to do that, he couldn’t dismiss this group out of hand. Not yet, at least.

“…Alright. I’ll follow along, for now,” He looked back to Vex’halia, “But that does not mean I intend to stay.”

“Of course not, darling,” Vex purred, “I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! I actually finished this a few weeks ago and kept forgetting to pull it off my work flash drive.
> 
> Sorry about that!
> 
> Thank you all for your comments! They make me SO HAPPY every time I read one! Don't forget to say hi to me at battlefox.tumblr.com or on twitter @BAXBattlefox!~  
> If you're feeling generous and want to support me writing all of these fics for you to read and enjoy, toss me a ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/battlefox
> 
> Thank you all again for reading!!

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a post by @Knifekiri on tumblr from about a year ago. Was originally gonna be a oneshot, but apparently I'm only capable of longfics. Enjoy.
> 
> Oh also listen   
> listen  
> I'm not 100% following Marvel's symbiote stuff ok just warning you now


End file.
